I have to admit that I'm not blown away with these guys tonight. I think McCain is winning. Rudy has been somewhat of a disappointment.
And I'm as libertarian as they get, but Ron Paul isn't inspiring a lot of confidence tonight.
Huckabee's campaign video: He believes in things. (Am I the only one who thinks he looks like Kevin Spacey?)
Question: retired brig general who is openly gay, wants to know why gays can't serve in military openly...
Hunter: Unit Cohesion...(No pun intended!) You can't ask these conservative soldiers to work in a "Small Tight Unit" (No pun intended !) I ain't making this up....
Huckabee: More about unit cohesion...
Romney: We're in the middle of a war. He has to retract his statement about openly gay soldiers from 15 years ago. He's going to ask the military about what they want.
The general feels that he didn't get an answer from the candidates. He thinks the military is professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians. He revealed his orientation after he retired. He thinks don't ask, don't tell is harmful. We're losing good doctors, pilots, nurses, etc.
McCain: I talk to the military. They unanimously say that the present policy is working.
New Question: Do you accept the support of the Log Cabin Republicans (Gay Republicans)
Huck: He'll take anybody's support. Of Course. wouldn't change his position on same sex marriage.
New Question: National debt will increase by half a million in the length of time this question takes. What are we going to do?
Fred: We're spending social security fund of the future. Entitlements are a huge problem. It's a moral issue, but I don't have a clue what to do.
Mitt: We face lots of problems, but Social Security is radioactive, and I ain't going to touch it from this stage....Do you think I'm an idiot?
New Question: Space exploration: are any of you willing to send someone to Mars? what is your vision for space exploration?
Huck: let's expand the space program. Look what GPS, Screens, TV satellites have done. (He's doing well. He's slick.) Gets a good laugh by suggesting we put Hillary on a rocket to Mars.
Tancredo: Everybody's trying to be everything. We can't afford some things, like going to Mars.
New question: Lots of African Americans have conservative views, but vote Democrat. What's up with that?
Giuliani: We haven't sold it well. I moved 600,000 people off welfare. (Rudy isn't selling himself worth a damn tonight. Hillary might eat his lunch. I fear for him.)
Huck: I got a good % of the black vote. I asked for their vote. And we better reach out to blacks and hispanics.
New question from someone with a Rebel flag in the background....what does this flag represent?
Mitt: I'm above this. So can our country. (Good answer, Mitt.)
Fred: Everybody who hangs the Stars and Bars isn't racist. It doesn't belong in a public place. We don't need to go out of the way to bring up stuff like this.
Ron Paul's video: Less tax, less regulation, a Republic, not an empire, etc.
New question: fixing the infrastructure will cost more than two trillion....who can articulate the sacrifices we need to make?
Rudy: I saw it all in NYC....Can't be done by one President. We'll need a sustained effort, long term, over multiple administrations.
Ron Paul: It's a big problem. we're taxed to blow up and rebuild bridges overseas, and our own are falling down.
McCain: Will veto every single pork bill that crosses his desk. No bridges to nowhere. He's got a Veto pen.
Rudy: (having taken a hit) The line item veto is unconstitutional.
New question for Ron Paul: Are you going to let America down by not running as an Independent?
Ron Paul: I'm doing well. That's not why I'm in this. Raised 4.3 million in one day. THIS COUNTRY IS IN A REVOLUTION, THEY'RE SICK OF WHAT THEY'RE GETTING, AND I'M LUCKY TO BE A PART OF IT.
New Question: Rudy, why did you switch from Yankees to Red Sox after post-season.
Rudy: I'm an American League fan. He likes their team in the series. When I was mayor of NYC, the Yankees won 4 world series. Afterward, none.
Mitt: Red Sox beat Yanks, when they were ahead 3 games to none.
Ok, this thing is over.
Duncan Hunter is going nowhere.
Ron Paul didn't blow me away, and I wanted him to.
Mitt came across ok.
Put "The Location of Tom Tancredo's Head" into Google, and you'll see my opinion on Tancredo.
I'll call Fred Thompson if I ever need someone to scowl.
Rudy didn't have a particularly good night. He's the Hillary of this thing, and everybody's dogpiling.
I bet Huckabee gets a boost after this. He did ok.
I think John McCain did the best. He comes across as the adult in the room. He's bulletproof on the military issues, has some credibility with his Veto pen.
I'm disappointed that there isn't a single candidate taking a Free Market, Free Trade Stance in a big way. Ron Paul hardly mentioned it.
Wait a minute....William Bennett has been pulled away from the slot machines long enough to do some CNN commentary. David Gergen agrees that McCain has found his voice. He agrees that Huckabee is a factor.
There's a book on the Clinton/Dole election called either "Campaign Fever" or "Losers", depending if you find the original hardback, or the paperback reprint. Michael Lewis, who wrote "Liars Poker", spent about a year following and writing about the losing candidates in the Republican and Democratic primaries.
William Bennett is talking about moral authority. Now he's making a more appropriate Texas Hold 'em reference.
Anyway, the Michael Lewis books is worth reading. John McCain is the hero of that book, and I haven't really thought of it recently until tonight. McCain says what he wants to say, consequences be damned. Tonight was the first time I've seen anything in McCain that reflects the qualities Lewis wrote about. Check it out. Michael Lewis, "Losers".
For What It's Worth, John McCain won the debate.
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